Month: January 2011

Calling All Creative Junkies!

Hey everyone! Starting February 1st  I am kicking the month off with 14 days of Valentines. Each day I will share a fun little project/tutorial related to hearts, love and all things valentines. I am also throwing it out to you, if you would like to share a craft you think would fit the theme, to be a guest blogger! If you interested email me at lissables@gmail.com I love seeing what everyone else comes up with. And I would love to be able to share as much as possible! So even if you think yours isn’t that crazy, always remember simple is fun too!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Seriously

And to make this deal a little sweeter I will pick one entry to win a special surprise! So get writing me!

Life and Disneyland

Lately life has been just fantastic. I mean the little moments. But you really cant appreciate them unless you have some crap thrown in the mix too. This week has been a roller coaster of ups & downs like that. I had my mom come to visit, and like every time she visits, she also has to leave. Up & down. I was late driving my pretend kids to school this morning and hit literally every red light in the city ( ps we were not even 1 minute late and he still got a tardy slip, aww poor kid!) But on the way back after school we also hit every red light but with no where to go we rolled down the windows and enjoyed the sun and sang some songs. Down & up (ps I am one of those people that sings out loud all the time in my car. I dont care if you see me, in fact I hope it makes you smile.) One of my said pretend kids had an accident right after we got into the McDonalds playground, and an hour later they both crushed me with hugs and told me they loved me. Big Down and Big Up! I buy some chips and enjoy them, I gain weight. Up and down and up and down. But like I said you cant appreciate the good without some bad.

But like I mentioned my mom came to visit this last week. Which explains my MIA on here. Because when she comes everything else freezes. I’m so lucky that I get to see her as much as I do since I moved to another country. So we hung out, giggled, shopped lots and ate at all her favorite places. We also went to Disneyland, we both had passes that were expiring and neither of us is renewing. (seriously that place is way too busy)

But we met up with some old family friends and had a great last visit. We did all our favorites, toy story, the animation academy, Bell’s hidden library where you can find out what disney character you are, (I was nala from the lion king, mom was cinderella haha.) We also did stuff we normally didnt make time for, seeing some spontaneous shows, the world of color water show, and less thrill seeking rides. All in all it was a great way to end the year of Disney. And now I have so many more pictures and memories from Disneyland that I will never catch up scrapbooking!

Miss you already mom, Thanks for the year of Disney!

Carter’s Second Birthday Cupcakes

Welcome to Heaven. Where we serve Nutella Buttercream Chocolate cupcakes. These things are to die for! Plus I got to play with my new cupcake stand I got for Christmas. Its for one of my favorite little boys second birthday. He can inhale Nutella sandwiches so when I suggested doing Nutella cupcakes his mom loved it! I love when I can excite people over flavors and design! Hope it doesn’t make your mouth water too much!

Im in love with this beautiful stand! I love how the cupcakes just float on the glass tiers. Its so unique!

Mmm I always try just one. Any more and I’ll weigh 300 pounds. But I try one just to make sure what I am delivering isn’t some accidentally poisoned mess. And these babies are sure heaven to me. I gave Brandon a bite and instead he inhaled half the cupcake. So must be a favorite!

And my favorite part of the floating glass, that you can see the super cute cupcake liner messages! Simply delicious, couldn’t have said it any better myself!

Viva Las Vegas

So I was spending some time with some friends this week, who were visiting from out of town. I NEVER spend time on the strip. But it was fun seeing the new cosmopolitan hotel which just recently opened up. We just spent a night walking around and I couldn’t help but take a million photo’s!

I just adore artwork with faces. So I was immediately drawn to these creations! The top right is just hanging colored circles. The other two are massive painting’s with amazing hair! I would hang those in my house I love them so much. They wouldn’t match at all haha but I love them all the same.

This is a massive chandelier in the Cosmopolitan, its ridiculously huge and covers a whole bar and lounge area. Its breathtakingly beautiful in person and picture just dont do it justice.

So that was a tour of my town, and two last pictures to leave you with. My favorite of the night. Because I have to get some sleep I am making cupcakes tomorrow! For a special little boy’s birthday! Nutella cupcakes because he can inhale a whole jar in one sitting if I let him!

I am just in love with ^this one. Hope you guys have a wicked wednesday! Stay tuned!

Yummy Recipe!

This is my go to recipe when I have people over and I want to make something impressive looking but dont really want to put that much effort into it. Because having company should not mean a day of stressing out. So last night when my In Laws were coming over for dinner I knew just what to make! I found this recipe in a magazine awhile back. Its actually from glee star Lea Michele. A favorite meal from her mom. So if your a gleek or just want a good recipe here it is!

Lasagna Roll Ups

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large bunch broccoli stems removed and finely chopped

1 16 oz bag of carrots chopped or shredded

1 16 oz box of lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

32 oz container of ricotta cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1/4 cup parmesan

2 cups shredded mozzarella

2 jars tomato sauce

Preheat to 350

In a large skillet heat olive oil and saute Broccoli and carrots until tender (about 7 minutes) Place in fridge until cool. Cook noodles, drain and rinse in cold water to prevent sticking.

Lay out flat. Mix ricotta, oregano, basil and garlic. Salt to taste. Add parmesan and mozzarella, mix well. Add broccoli and carrots to cheese mixture. Use back of spoon to spread mixture onto noodles. Leaving an inch at one end so you can roll up without overflowing. Roll up each noodle.

Place in casserole dish with half sauce of sauce, seam side down. Cook 45 min, remove and top with remaining sauce and finish cooking for 15 minutes.

I like to also add some ground beef to the sauce to make the meal more flavorful and filling. I also throw some more parm on top . Serve this up with a cesar salad and some dinner rolls and voila perfect for any dinner party.

So enjoy the recipe! We all did. And it must have smelled good because these two sat nicely right beside me the whole meal! Happy Monday everyone!

Becketts Buzz Birthday!

Today was my nephews first birthday party! Wow where did that year go!

Happy Birthday Beckett!

And of course I brought the cake! My sister in law wanted a similar order to the baby shower she hosted and I catered a month ago. So I re strung my favorite cake plates with themed Buzz lightyear colors, tinted my icing to match and to infinity & beyond, we had an amazing display! I also did a personal cake for him to squish with those little fingers! Jess found some super cute toy story ring toppers to add to the theme and the kids loved them!

And did he ever squish with those little fingers! I think thats my favorite thing about a first birthday, every kid gets coated in icing. I made sure to make his personal cake with extra icing just to be sure!

So Happy Birthday to my cute nephew Beckett! (o and ps practically no cupcakes left over afterwards! always my favorite sight to see!)

PPS I had found this amazing little personal cupcake holder while we were in calgary and I just had to test it out. Now I’m addicted and want tons of them! I mean how cute is that!

Have a great weekend everyone!

More 5 Minute Redecorating

My in laws fly in tomorrow and my mother the day after. Which means in my house that I have one massive To Do list going. All the cleaning and fixing needs to be done asap. Projects that have been waiting months are now kicked into “I cant wait till Brandon gets home I must do this right now!” So While the laundry was rumbling I took on the spare bathroom. I always hated the towel rack because its so misplaced in this bathroom. So when my sister in law gave me these awesome knobs she didn’t want anymore I knew just what to do with them!

I love the difference it made on the little room. I also added two extra’s by the sink for hand towels. Now Im itching to do the same with my master bathroom with some super cute hooks my mom found for me.

Our other little project which always seems to try and kill Brandon was to hang our new drapes. And although I may have ruined the moment it was finished, by accidentally knocking over and emptying the 50 bits across the entire kitchen floor. Its still so worth it to have beautiful new drapes and a rod that doesn’t fall off every time you touch it. Special thanks to Brandon for dealing with that wall again.

And to cap off my exciting night I got to video chat with my best friend. We have a long distance relationship. (I seem to do that a lot. Me and Brandon did for a year and a half 4 of those months were even while we were married. My best friend lives two states over. My parents in another country, my sister in the same country as them but a province over. Am I crazy or just like getting mail haha) Anyways tonight was the second time we’ve gotten around the video chatting. I am so grateful for technology. I hear my grandma talk about when she immigrated and how she got to phone home once a month and how much it cost, and I think how fortunate I am to turn on a little computer and get to see the people I love from another time zone. It truly made my night getting to laugh and eat junk food together through a screen. Miss you.

So Bring on the crazy weekend of family and family and more family. I’m doing my nephews birthday cakes on Saturday! I cant wait to see him demolish that icing with a slight bit of cake 😉

To Realize the Value.

Today I got to spend the whole day running errands with my hubby. I got to walk my two puppies. I got to visit my nephew on his first birthday, Happy Birthday Becks! I got to finish an album for a new baby. I got to talk to my little sister on the phone. And then my dad, and then my mom. I got to read a good book in the bath. I got to cuddle with my little family and watch netflicks. Its just another day in our home but after reading something my dad posted earlier today it made me really value how special a normal day can be. So today was perfect. Bring on tomorrow!

To realize

The value of a sister/brother

Ask someone Who doesn’t have one.

To realize

The value of ten years:

Ask a newly Divorced couple.

To realize

The value of four years:

Ask a graduate.

To realize

The value of one year:

Ask a student who Has failed a final exam.

To realize

The value of nine months:

Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize

The value of one month:

Ask a mother Who has given birth to A premature baby.

To realize

The value of one week:

Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize

The value of one minute:

Ask a person Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize

The value of one second:

Ask a person Who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of a friend or family member:

LOSE ONE.

Time waits for no one.

Treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure it even more when

You can share it with someone special.

Remember….

Hold on tight to the ones you love!

Simple Joy’s + Simple Tutorial

So over Christmas there was a book on my mom’s kitchen table. The book of awesome. It really was. It talked about appreciating the little things in your daily life . Flipping your pillow over to the cool side. Someone waving when you let them in front of your car. Bubble wrap. Finding money in your pockets. Simple everyday things. I’m learning in 2011 to celebrate these things. I’ll let you in on today’s little joy. I was running errands after babysitting and doing laundry all day, needless to say my make up bag was very ignored the last couple days. But that cute little high school bag boy at the grocery store made my day. So sweet and flirty, he didn’t even notice the ring haha. All the same he made me feel pretty on a day where I felt that was the last thing possible. I left with bags dragging my arms down but a smile on my face. Celebrate your little joys, no matter how simple they may be.

And if you are having trouble on certain days finding your simple joy try creating it. I find my best days are when I get really into a craft/project. So to help you I will show you one of the easiest and fastest. The best part is you probably have all the stuff already in your house! You will need a picture frame (preferably on the bigger side.) A dry erase Marker, Fun pattern paper, and whatever decorative add on’s you want.

I chose to use a floating frame so I could still see through a bit. I like that look. Then I grabbed my nearest stash of scrap pattern paper. I wanted to keep it simple but add a little flare so I threw in a canvas embellishment of the Eiffel tower. And voila my first message board!

For the second one I wanted to make it more specific to its purpose. So I found a note card pack, picked out a cute one. Slipped it in, added a super cute clip and ribbon bow and voila second dry erase board. This one to be used as a phone message delivery, since we do not have voicemail on our home phone.

How super cute and especially easy. Literally I think anyone can do this, whether you have the craft bone in you or not. So hopefully this brings you a little piece of joy. Go celebrate, go be happy!

5 Minute Renovations

On mornings where I don’t have a lot planned for the day I try to make a little goal list of one little project I want to do. Today I got up and planned to take down all the xmas stuff. Always sad to see it go. But I also got to put out some new stuff I got for Christmas. I find it so energizing to redecorate. Even if its just tiny touches at a time. Today’s project was even better because it was only 5 min!

My mom gave me the fabulous key holders which I have been wanting forever now. I think I lose my keys at least once a day still. So this should help. And my aunt gave me the cute wall quote when I first moved away from home. We have a tiny little hallway from the main room of our house to the garage and laundry room. It was always so blah looking, so today’s project was to spice it up! I hung the key holder and centered the quote above it, found a similar frame (but I think I’m going to actually replace it with a larger simple black frame, and of course change out the picture for one of both of us and the puppies as a big family.) And five minutes later voila!

It feels good to do a five minute makeover. You accomplish something and beautify your house and it takes less time than turning the tv on! I’ve got a couple more five minute make overs to do this week, if I can find the supplies I need. But definitely stay tuned for some crafty tips! Hope your all having a good weekend!